It's a Jeep Thing

Beisly asked me to post some pics of my Jeep.  I only have a few pics posted as of right now.  They were taken during my camping trip in Wisconsin last year.  I'm re-posting them (Below), and I'll get some better pictures posted later in the week. 

A lot of people have asked why I am so loyal to Jeeps (I've had two different Jeeps in the past five years).  Having totaled a Honda Accord and two police cars, I've had my fair share of traffic collisions.  So for safety reasons, I like being up higher so that I can see what's going on around me.  Now for those of you who are going to talk about Jeeps, other SUV's and rollovers, let me just address that issue right now.  Statistically, the vast majority of rollovers occur when the DRIVER of the SUV is driving too fast for conditions, most often while turning.  So I believe that I can mitigate the possibility of having a rollover simply by driving at a reasonable speed.  Moreover, studies have shown that the benefit of having the protection afforded by an SUV far outweighs any risk of rollover.

Now that we've put to death that old wives tale.  Let's take a look at why I choose to drive a Jeep:

• HUMMER TRAINING.  When I worked for a GM dealer, I got to go for a week to train on their HUMMER course that is used by the U.S. Army Rangers.  ALL (Not some, not most but ALL) of the instructors owned Jeeps.  These are guys who spend their entire careers learning about off-roading and reliable vehicles.  It was kind of ironic that they worked for HUMMER but owned Jeeps (One or two of them owned a HUMMER and a Jeep).  It was kind of like when I worked for SBC and sold DSL but we all had Comcast Broadband 'cause it was so much better than SBC's product.  Getting back on point, I didn't want to spend the money ($60k for an H2 or $100k for an H1) for a HUMMER but I still wanted the possibility of going off-road, so that is why the day after I got back from HUMMER Training, I went and bought a Jeep.
• B LICENSE PLATES.  There is this stupid ordinance in Chicago that makes is illegal to drive a vehicle with a B-plate on Lakeshore Drive.  Vehicles with B plates include pickup trucks, some vans and combo vehicles (Like the Chevy Avalanche).  This ordinance was originally enacted because stuck-up people thought that trucks traveling on their beautiful Lakeshore Drive wouldn't look pretty.  My attitude, of course, is if you want to see something pretty, go to a museum.  Streets are made to be driven on.  Regardless, being an Oklahoma boy, I've always liked pickup trucks (I used to have a Ford F150 XLT and a Ford Ranger Edge).  But it didn't make sense to own a vehicle that I couldn't even drive on the main road next to my house.  So still wanting to be up higher than a car but not have a vehicle with a B plate, I opted to get a Jeep.
• OFF-ROAD CAPABILITIES.  Going back to the whole HUMMER thing, Jeeps can do amazing things off road.  I like it when I go camping and I can drive right up to the campsite, without having to wonder if my little Chevy Aveo will make it through the puddle in front of me.  I also like being able to use my 4wd capabilities when it is snowing.
• PARKING.  Parking in downtown Chicago isn't too easy when you're in a huge SUV.  A Jeep is compact enough to where I'm generally able to fit into any space. 
• CLEARANCE.  While I loved driving the Chevy Avalanche Z71, there was no way to maneuver a big SUV through the alleys that I had to drive through to get to my parking spot.  I also scraped the top of the luggage rack when I was pulling into the Streets of Woodfield parking garage.  These are problems that I haven't had in a Jeep.
• MANUAL TRANSMISSION.  I love driving cars with manual transmissions.  I've owned a Ford Explorer, two Accords, two Preludes and two Jeeps, all of which were stick-shift.  The acceleration and control that a manual transmission offers cannot be rivaled by anything else.  I've driven BMW's and other "Auto-stick" vehicles, but it just isn't the same.  A lot of people whine and complain, saying, "I can't drive stick-shift in the stop-and-go traffic in Chicago.  It's too much work" My response: "Then take the bus, Sally, 'cause you probably shouldn't be driving in Chicago traffic to begin with."

Here are some pictures of my Jeep (Click on thumbnail to enlarge): 

Comments

[Jon Dale]

Hey Dave,

Great post about Jeep. I feel the same way about my Toyota 4Runner. Its a 1990 model but its unstoppable.

Come out here and lets go skiing.